Tweet from Jimmy Casas (February 10, 2018)
Yup, this is so me. I’m not going to even hide behind any pretense that it’s not. This three sentence tweet not only put me in my place but admittedly pointed out my biggest leadership gap.
I just recently finished Lolly Daskal's The Leadership Gap, that describe this exact archetype. The Navigator, whose leadership style is to steer people to find their own solutions but whose fault lies in wanting to fix the problem themselves. In turn, they come off as arrogant.
I recently ran into this exact situation myself with a colleague. “No good deed goes unpunished,” they say. Even your best intentions are met with resistance or outright hostility. Let me repeat. You may think that your efforts are helping them, but “fixing” things for them just opens the door to enabling bad habits to continue and fester. I learned this the hard way.
I have always shared everything. Worksheets, rubrics, handouts, you name, I share it. But recent feedback that I was given reminded me that as a leader, you must allow space for others to have autonomy and to take ownership of their work. This is key in cultivating leaders and culture.
Think of this quote by Lao Tzu:
“A leader is best when people barely knows he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say we did it ourselves.”
Yes, I have done this throughout my teaching career with my students. I don't understand why it took me so long to realize to do the same with adults. It is my go to mantra now. Lesson learned.
Challenge yourself: Take a look at your relationships. How might you empower others to take ownership of their work?
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Giving credit where credit is due:
Jimmy Casas, author of Culturize, is one of my favorite educational leaders.
The Leadership Gap, by Lolly Daskal, is a must read.
